Ukrainian staple: the night will make a star of the country’s classic dishes, including Borsch
(Picture: Press handout )Brigade Bar and Kitchen, the restaurant which has supported more than 6,000 homeless people since opening a decade ago, is set to host a fundraising dinner this weekend with help from top Ukranian chef and TV presenter Yurii Kovryzhenko.
On Saturday, Brigade’s Simon Boyle will cook alongside Kovryzhenko, with the pair raising money for a pair of food-based charities helping those in Ukraine affected by the war. The evening’s menu will include a number of staple Ukrainian dishes, including Forshmak, a pickled herring, beetroot cream, sour apple and borage; Borsch with porcini mushrooms; Ukrainian dumplings with cabbage Smoked river trout and chicken Kyiv.
The two programmes that will benefit are the Family Food Boxes scheme set up by the Ukrainian embassy, which delivers food parcels, and the World Central Kitchen, a global not-for-profit organisation that posts chefs to afflicted areas to cook for those in need.
Kovryzhenko, who has launched Ukrainian restaurants in both South Korea and Georgia, is in London by way of unfortunate coincidence. The chef was visiting the capital in order to appear at an event just days before the invasion began; he is now living in the Ukranian embassy, unable to return home.
Kovryzhenko said: “I am very pleased to be cooking with Simon at this great event. Not only will I be able to show off great Ukrainian food but also help many of my friends and civilians trapped in Ukraine.”
“The warmth and kindness of the Ukrainian people will always be etched into my memory,” added Boyle. “Having seen what has happened, I’m reflecting each day on what a terrible situation my former colleagues must be in right now.
“Many have stayed to defend their homes that they worked so hard for on the Minerva, or they have had to flee those homes simply because they have no choice. I am so upset to think that some may lose their lives. I recently realised that I might never see them again. The war in Ukraine is wrong on so many levels, and we must do whatever we can to help the affected people.”
Boyle came up with the idea for the dinner with help from friend Peter Marshall, a publisher who moved to Ukraine in 2015 and escaped the country shortly after the conflict began; his journey back to the UK took three weeks. He said of this Saturday: “It is very important the we do as much as we can to help Ukraine. I’ve lived in Ukraine for seven years and consider it my second home. It was deeply upsetting to see what was going on when we were there and it has only escalated since we left.
“We were fortunate to be able to come to a safe place but there are millions of people who have stayed to defend their families, their homes and their country.
“This event is about providing as much support as is possible.”
